National Faculty Norms: What Do College Faculty Think About Their Work?

What do faculty members at American colleges and universities think about their teaching methods, the institutional climate at their schools, their work-life balance, and their interactions with students? Answers to these questions are part of the extensive picture of faculty life painted by a Higher Education Research Institute report, The American College Teacher: National Norms for the 2007-2008 HERI Faculty Survey.  The report draws data from the responses of more than 22,000 full-time college and university faculty members at 372 four-year institutions from across the United States who spend at least some of their time teaching undergraduates. Similar surveys have been conducted by HERI triennially since 1989-90, with the most recent previous survey conducted in 2004-05.  

FINDINGS

Goals for Undergraduate Education

• Seventy-five percent of faculty respondents indicated that it is “very important” or “essential” to enhance students’ knowledge of and appreciation for other racial/ethnic groups—an 18-percentage-point increase from 2004-05.
• Nearly all respondents—99.6 percent—indicated that “developing the ability to think critically” is an essential or very important goal for undergraduate education.
• Seventy-three percent of faculty said they believed “instilling an appreciation of the liberal arts” is an essential or very important goal—an increase of 15 percentage points from 2004-05.

Teaching Activities

• In the past two years, 67 percent of faculty had developed a new course; 57 percent had worked with undergraduates on a research project, and 41 percent had taught an interdisciplinary course.
• The most frequently used teaching methods among respondents are class discussions (82 percent), cooperative small-group learning (59 percent), and use of “real-life problems” (56 percent).
• The least frequently used teaching methods are electronic quizzes with in-class feedback (7 percent), community-service coursework (8 percent), and use of teaching assistants (11 percent).

Institutional Climate

• Eighty-six percent of faculty respondents agreed with the statement “Women faculty are treated fairly [at my institution].”
• Almost three-quarters of faculty respondents (73 percent) agreed that “This institution should hire more faculty of color.”
• Only 44 percent of faculty said that “most students are well-prepared academically.”

More information about the survey, including a research brief and ordering information, is available online.

DID YOU KNOW?

• More than half of faculty (56 percent) said it is “very important” or “essential” to instill a commitment to community service in students—a 19-percentage-point increase from 2004-05.
• Sixty-three percent of respondents said they would “definitely” become college professors again if they had to redo their careers.
• Thirty-six percent of faculty respondents agreed that, “Most of the students I teach lack the basic skills for college-level work.”